History of German Teams in the UEFA Cup

Germany have been one of the most successful nations in the UEFA cup`s history, with German clubs having won six cups during the competitions history. The first German team to reach the final of the UEFA Cup were Borussia Mönchengladbach, in 1973. At the time, the final was held in two legs, with the team being beaten 3 – 0 by Liverpool at the first (away) leg, and 2 – 0 on the second (home leg). Two years later, the team became the first German team to win the competition, in the 1975 finals. The first leg was played at home, which was a 0-0 draw. In the second leg, at Diekman Stadion, the team beat the Netherlands` Twente 5 – 1. The team continued their early success in the competition by also becoming the first team to win the UEFA cup twice, in 1979. The first leg, against Red Star Belgrade at Stadion Crvena Zvezda, the team drew 1 – 1, and won the second leg at home, scoring the only goal of the game.

The following year, German teams were responsible for the first final of the competition to feature two clubs from the same nation. Borussia Mönchengladbach reached the final again, playing against Eintracht Frankfurt. The first game of the final, played at Mönchengladbach, the home team won 3 – 2. The second game, at Frankfurt, was won 1 – 0 by the home team. This resulted in an even aggregate, with a victory for Eintracht Frankfurt, on away goals. Hamburg reached the finals in 1982, squaring up against IFK Göteborg of Sweden. The German team lost both games, being defeated 1 – 0 at home in the first game, and 3 – 0 in the second game. It was not until 1986 that another German team would reach the final, with Köln being unsuccessful against Real Madrid. Despite winning the second (home) match 2 – 0, they had lost the first one 5 – 1, and so lost on aggregate.

Three more German teams reached the finals during the `dual final` era – Bayer Leverkusen in 1988, VfB Stuttgart in 1989, Borussia Dortmund in 1994, Bayern Munich in 1996 and Schalke 04, in 1997. Of these, the German side was victorious in 1988, 1996 and 1997, marking a very successful period for German second tier European football. Starting with the 1998 season, the format of the final has changed to just have one game, played at a `neutral` stadium. In this time, German teams have been less successful than previously, having reached the final only twice: Borussia Dortmund in 2002 (losing to Feyenoord), and Werder Bremen in 2009 (beaten 2 – 1 by Shakhtar Donetsk after extra time). If you`re thinking of betting on European football, then having an idea of the history of teams in relevant tournaments can be a good way of assessing how good UEFA cup odds actually are.